This invention relates generally to insecticide applicators for animals and more particularly to dusting bags having a novel closure structure so as to simplify the process of filling the bag with insecticide powder.
It is well known that certain types of insects such as flies, ticks and lice can prey upon animals, often resulting in weight loss, damaged hides or even death to the animal. To combat this problem, ranchers have applied conventional off-based or powder insecticides to their animals. Application of the insecticide, though, has posed a logistical as well as financial problem.
One method of applying insecticide to animals which has gained wide acceptance within the ranching community is the use of dusting bags. In the past, dusting bags were simply burlap sacks which were filled with an insecticide powder and suspended from low hanging tree limbs. Cattle or other animals would brush up against the bag and disturb the contents therein, thus causing the insecticide powder to sift through the loose burlap weave and fall onto the back of the animal. Because these bags were open topped, it was a simple matter to fill the bags with insecticide by simply pouring the powder into the open top. However, the open top let water seep into the bag during rain storms thus causing the powder to clump together. These early dusting bags suffered from an additional disadvantage in that the bag was often destroyed by chewing animals or clogged with dirt and saliva from direct contact with the animals.
Later dusting bags, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,972,309 to Cortner, Jr. and 4,130,092 and 4,258,667 to Eshnaur et al. incorporate an outer water tight cover draped over the top and sides of the burlap sack. The covering was effective to keep the animals from direct contact with the inner burlap sack. Cortner, Jr. and Eshnaur et al. have vertical slits through the outer covering and inner sack which allow filling of the bag with insecticide powder and which reduce the chance of the bag opening inadvertently due to the weight of the insecticide. Other dusting bags being sold on the market were triangular or trapezoidal shaped having a velcro opening defined along one diagonal side edge of the bag. Still, filling of these bags with insecticide powder is relatively awkward and inefficient compared to older top-filled bags.
Eshnaur '092, in particular, discloses a dusting bag with a flip open top formed using a U-shaped member attached to the rear panel of the bag. Rope, woven into the border of the front panel of the bag, extends through loops on the member and passes upward to act as tie ends which are used to hang the bag. There are several drawbacks with the flip top disclosed in Eshnaur '092 which makes it more difficult to fill the dusting bags in the field. First, the opening is not well supported on all sides, thus making the opening flimsy and prone to collapse. A second drawback is the narrowness of the opening when the member is flipped to an open position. The opening can be expanded only by using a free hand which makes filling the bag awkward and inefficient.
Accordingly, a need remains for a dusting bag which is easy to fill, yet maintains closure of the opening thus preventing water from seeping into the powder filled inner bag.